Crude oil prices rise Monday

NEW YORK, Nov. 9 (UPI) -- A late season storm, Ida, pushed oil markets higher during the weekend with prices topping $79 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The storm threatens Gulf Coast supply lines, but was downgrade from hurricane status to a weakening tropical storm Monday, National Geographic News reported.

With equities rising on Wall Street, crude oil prices added $1.80 Monday to $79.23 per barrel. Heating oil prices added 0.0525 cents to $2.056 per gallon. Reformulated gasoline prices rose 0.0497 cents to $1.974 per gallon. Natural gas gained 0.029 cents to $4.4624 per million British thermal units.

At the pump, the national average price of unleaded gasoline fell to $2.664 per gallon Monday, down from Sunday's $2.669, AAA said.